Toronto – Oct. 2, 2007 – The Green Party of Ontario unveiled its agricultural platform today with a vow to give to farmers the power to control their own markets and earn a decent living. Leader Frank de Jong, Deputy Leader Victoria Serda and Shane Jolley, the Green candidate for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, visited the Keady Market near Owen Sound to explain the policy and emphasize the importance of farming in Ontario.

"The future of Ontario farms and farmers is obviously an important agricultural issue," de Jong said. "But we need to recognize that it's also an important environmental, economic, land use, energy and health care issue as well.

"Farmers feed us, they provide important environmental services and habitat, and they produce raw materials for fuel, pharmaceuticals and even construction. Their ability to survive affects us all on multiple levels."

The Green Party's agricultural platform addresses a number of threats to the survival of Ontario's family-owned farms, including the loss of farm diversity, the lack of support for sustainable local agriculture, the disconnection between farmers and consumers, the accelerating disappearance of prime farmland, and the increase in large-scale, industrial farming.

"Farmers are among the most productive workers in our economy, but powerful corporate buyers and suppliers, poor government policies and dysfunctional markets have all helped create an agricultural system that doesn't work for farmers, consumers or the environment," Jolley said. "The Green Party wants to reverse these trends by introducing innovative market- and incentive-based measures that support sustainable agriculture, maximize farmers' net income, and ensure a healthy, locally produced food supply."

"Our goal," Serda added, "is to restore the financial viability of the family farm, support higher farmgate prices, assure a reliable supply of local, sustainably produced food, preserve ecological diversity, and stabilize the social and economic life of rural communities."

Highlights of the Green Party of Ontario's agricultural platform include promises to:

Invest $100 million to expand the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program, which compensates farmers for the public benefits of the ecological goods and services they provide, including clean air and water, biodiversity and habitat preservation, and carbon sequestration to fight climate change. ?

Support farmers who engage in value-added production and seek new sources of revenue, particularly from on-farm projects to produce renewable energy. ?

Support the establishment and expansion of Ontario's Greenbelt to prevent urban sprawl and protect prime farmland from development. ?

Invest $10 million over four years on an Organic Farming Transition Plan to assist farmers who want to adopt organic production methods. ?

Invest $50 million over four years for programs to assist farm families with succession planning, apprenticeships and other programs to support young people in agriculture.

Create a multi-stakeholder Ontario Food Policy Council (OFPC) within the Ministry of Health Promotion to advise the government on policies to guarantee food security, access to nutritious local food and adequate farm incomes.

The Green Party of Ontario's full platform is available at www.gpo.ca.